Ella Stone Goes to Hogwarts
by Emily S
Summary: It's been a year since his summer fling. Draco had moved on with his life, all but forgotten her... But she's here. Why? What business does Ella Stone have at Hogwarts? Please read, review, and enjoy.
1. Chapter 1

_In case you didn't know ahead of time, this is the sequel to my first fic, A Summer in the Life of Draco, but I think that it could read nicely as a standalone. I haven't written fiction for a few years, but I really hope you enjoy this latest venture. There was an old sequel by another name on Schnoogle, but I reread it and it honestly made me cringe because it was so terrible. So please, enjoy this story. I'm playing a bit with how to format it and expect to see different perspectives throughout the story... if that makes sense. I hope you laugh and cry with my characters, and that you fall in love with them as much as I have._

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Ella Stone walked nervously into the Great Hall and waited uncomfortably in line. She was easily a head taller than all the new students standing around her, seeing as she was six years their senior. Standing on her tiptoes she attempted to scan the room around her looking for any trace of Draco. What house had he said he was in, exactly? Something to do with a snake? When she realized that there was a banner on the far left side that included an emblem of a snake, she decided that must be it.

The students were being sorted one by one. It appeared that all they had to do was put on a hat, and the hat would tell them where to go. Ironic, really, that the fate of her last year of schooling would be determined by a hat. What could a hat possibly know about her life, huh? She began humming a tune and when a group of the young boys who were waiting to be sorted began pointing at her and whispering, she shot them a look, said "boo" and they immediately appeared to shrink into themselves. Ella smiled, laughing silently.

Suddenly, her name was being called by a pointy-faced, uptight looking woman wearing glasses. All she could do for a moment was stare because she was unsure that she had even heard her name. She awkwardly walked up on stage and sat down on the three-legged stool. As the hat was lowered onto her head, she crossed her fingers in her lap. The stool was obviously meant for younger students because she felt herself trying very hard to sit comfortably. As soon as the hat touched her head, she heard it muttering. But was the hat really doing this? She hadn't heard it do this for anyone else. Could the other students hear it as well?

_"Now what on earth are you doing here? You're a little old for a new student. I haven't had to place one for some time now. Finished with school at Durmstrang? Surely Hogwarts is far superior. But they appear to have taught you well, you're a bright young witch with a need to prove yourself in many aspects. A Quidditch player, and a talented one I'd wager, Hogwarts could always use one. But where in your heart do you wish to be? My dear, your heart is purer than I'd like to place you in Slytherin but your mind is wandering to that part of the room and surely I must try and do what will make _you_ happy and as much as I'd like to have you in Gryffindor it surely has to be…_

"Slytherin!"

Ella released the breath she had been holding in her chest. She smiled widely and walked over to the table underneath the snake banner where the rest of Slytherin was cheering for her. As she made her way in front of the student body, people were whispering behind their hands and craning their necks in order to catch a glimpse of this new student. Boys were nudging each other, girls were glaring, and Ella felt herself blush as she tried to make herself appear tall and confident. When she finally had finished walking the gauntlet, she took the first open seat she came to. She had been one of the last to be sorted and by the time she had collected herself the headmaster had risen to speak.

Albus Dumbledore had been kind and understanding in his response to her request to attend Hogwarts this year. He had assured her that because of her right as an English citizen she was always given a place at this school, but he was concerned at the haste of this decision and made it clear that Durmstrang's six years of education was enough, surely, and wouldn't she prefer a trade school? She had immediately purchased her school things and left home after scrawling a quick explanation to her parents. Two days ago her father had managed to track her down at an inn in London. When it all came to blows, he was not content with her decision but would accept it for the time being. And now, here she was.

"The sorting is a spectacle every year, and frankly, it always works up an appetite!" the old headmaster said.

He clapped his hands together and magically the golden plates in front of her on the table became full of food. Immediately, she tried to find the stuffed peppers. After a few moments she realized that she was no longer in Bulgaria and that sacrifices must be made, including her favorite comfort food.

Ella looked down the table and spotted Draco's blond head. His gaze was fixed on a point that seemed to be on the other side of the room. He would not look her direction, despite the fact that every other male seemed to be. She took a deep breath and kept glancing at him from the corner of her eye. He never even moved. Ella was suddenly startled by what she supposed was a sort of greeting from a brown-haired boy across the table from her.

"What exactly are you doing here?" he said. Ella smiled sheepishly and looked away. No, wait. She looked up at him again and stared. At his hair.

It was PERFECT.

Never in her life had Ella seen hair that perfect. It was not humanly possible. She glared at him with envy and then realized that this look must seem very off-putting. She shook her head and tried to control herself. She smiled and managed to choke out "Um, going to school."

"Well, obviously. It's Ella, right?" He smiled and started eating his potatoes. With his mouth half-full, he managed to continue. "I'm Glenn, by the way. Rutherford. Sixth year, pureblood, Chaser on the house team." Ella's ears perked up when she heard him mention that he was a Chaser.

"Oh really? I'm a Chaser as well."

"Where abouts?"

"Well, I was at Durmstrang."

Glenn choked on his potatoes. After drinking from his goblet he looked at her, seeming to disbelieve her previous statement. Ella was glad he had choked. That's what he deserved for doubting her with his mouth full.

"Yeah, and I play for England on the weekends," was his response. Ella felt a flush rise to her cheeks. She never really got used to those sorts of reactions, even though she had been listening to them for nearly four years now. Eager for something to keep her occupied, she nibbled the edge of a turkey leg and kept glancing nervously at the far end of the table at Draco. His plate was full but he didn't seem to be eating anything. A girl on his right with a severe black bob was laughing and trying very hard to get Draco to pay attention to her. A stab of jealousy made her stomach turn. He had to have seen her; he had to have received her owl. Right?

He didn't look too different since the last time she'd seen him. His hair was longer, he had lost weight (or perhaps grown?), and he had a more severe look about him. Ella couldn't stand it any longer and directed her attention towards Mr. Perfect Hair.

"Glenn? Do you know everybody in this house?" Ella asked Mr. Perfect Hair. Even though her ego was wounded, he was currently her only acquaintance at Hogwarts.

Well, her only acquaintance that would acknowledge her existence.

"Everybody but the new firsties. Looking for someone?"

Ella chewed on her lower lip and tried not to look in Draco's general direction. She fidgeted in her seat and rested her chin on her palm and tried to seem very nonchalant about her inquires.

"Well, there's this guy."

"I'm a guy." Ella rolled her eyes. He smiled at her and she couldn't help but give him a look that communicated both her annoyance and amusement.

"But I'm not looking for you."

"Maybe you should be. This could be the moment when you say 'Where have you been all my life?'"

"Not quite. Now seriously, there's this guy-"

"Who isn't me-"

"Yes, who isn't you. Draco Malfoy. Ring a bell?"

Glenn smiled once again, leaned back in his seat and shook his head. He was laughing while he did this and Ella didn't think her request was worth laughing at. When he began to eat again without answering her question, she lost her patience. She picked up a dinner roll and threw it across the table at him, hitting him on the side of the face. He looked back up at her. When he noticed her obvious distress he dropped his fork and looked down the table at where Draco was sitting with pug-nosed Pansy Parkinson. Without taking his eyes of them, he addressed Ella's question with another question, getting them nowhere and making Ella want to overturn the gravy boat all over his head of perfectness.

"Why are you looking for him?"

That was a good question. Ella had left Malfoy Manor after the wedding, confused about her feelings. Was it a summer fling, and only a summer fling? Had it all been an illusion of love? Would they both walk away, filled with happy memories and never see each other again? She had spent her last year at Durmstrang confused about their relationship. He had written her so many letters. She couldn't bring herself to respond. What do you say to somebody that you had experienced so much with? That's why she was here. She needed answers. That's why she needed to find him.

"I need to speak with him. It's _very _important that I find him," she practically pleaded. Glenn leaned in towards her across the table. Ella took the hint and leaned in as well.

"See the guy down there with the prostitute-blond hair sitting next to the bitch that looks like she lost a fight with a wall?" He didn't look away from her. Ella looked where she knew he was sitting. She nodded and looked back at Glenn. "_That _is Draco Malfoy. Sitting next to him? Pansy Parkinson."

"And um, who is she?" Ella asked, trying very hard to seem uninterested. Had Draco mentioned a Pansy before? Glenn got an all-knowing smile on his face.

"In her mind? She's Draco's girlfriend. In reality? He's her biggest obsession. She's been trying since first year to get in his pants and make herself a little blond-haired, pug-nosed, pure-blood heir to the Malfoy family fortune. A bit scary, if you ask me." He noticed the color drain from her face and added "But don't worry. He's just as scared of her as everyone else should be. No hope for her, I'm afraid." He returned to his plate.

Ella let out a sigh of relief. Finally, she felt ready to tackle the plate of food sitting in front of her. But to her extreme disappointment, her plate was now sparkling with no trace of the meal she never got to enjoy. Her stomach grumbled, but whether that was from anxiety or hunger she couldn't safely say.

Dumbledore spoke a few more words that Ella didn't notice. Suddenly everyone was rising from their seats and moving towards the entrance hall in one giant mob. Ella had no clue where she was going, but she knew she _had_ to find Draco. The sooner this encounter took place, the sooner she could get on with her life.

Her life, it is worth mentioning, which she had completely reorganized to be here.

She had lost him in the crowd. You'd think a head of platinum blond hair on a six-foot wizard would be easy to spot but it turned out to be the opposite. Luckily, her new friend Glenn seemed to know where to go and took her by the arm.

"Let's go, Durmstrang."

Suddenly Ella felt herself being dragged through the mob of people down, down, down into the depths of the castle. She tried very hard to stare at the ground and trusted that Glenn would take her where she needed to go. People were looking at her and whispering things behind their hands. Glenn was getting shouts from boys who knew him asking who she was.

"New student. They need help, you know? New and all."

His grip would tighten on her arm and he would start walking faster whenever this happened. Ella wondered how many more stairs she would have to go down when suddenly Glenn was saying "bezoar" and she was pulled through a doorway into a stone-walled room.

The Slytherin common room reminded her vaguely of Malfoy Manor. It was completely stone, with a stone floor and dark tapestries covering parts of the walls. A grand fireplace was the focal point along one wall, with black upholstered leather chairs scattered around the room with purpose. There were desks and tables for doing work and rows and rows of leather-bound volumes contained within cases. The floor was covered in furs. She could see two stairwells that led, she hoped, to a bed with her name on it. Glenn's voice pulled her back from dreamland.

"You'll be going up the left staircase to… wait, what year are you, anyway?"

"Seventh."

"Alright, then up to the very top. That's where your dorm is. The right leads up to the boys dormitories. Anything else?"

Ella didn't really have any more questions Glenn could answer. She wanted to find Draco and at least get his reaction to her being here. She thanked Glenn for his help, and began walking through the room looking for Draco. Nobody spoke to her. Instead, she got the feeling that she was being glared at by every female in the room. She saw the black-haired girl with the pushed in face that had been sitting next to Draco at the feast. Ella accidently made eye contact and pushed her chin into the air and looked away. The girl rolled her eyes and whispered something to her friends, who began to laugh and look at Ella. She flushed and decided that the best thing at this very moment would be a bed and ran up the stairs on the left, taking two at a time.

When Ella reached the final landing, she yanked the door open and ran inside. The room was nothing special. Round, with six beds against the walls, draped with green curtains. She looked around for her trunk. She didn't see it and leaned, feeling defeated, against the wall and began to bang her head against the hard stone. There was one bed without a trunk and she assumed it must be for her. She pulled off her uniform and climbed into the sheets, grateful for a moment of peace before classes started tomorrow. However, she really did need her trunk.

When Ella woke up, the room was dark. She wasn't exactly sure what time it was. There were only stain glass windows letting in light. Deciding that it must be pretty late, Ella deemed it was safe to go looking for her trunk. It couldn't have gone far. She had delivered it here herself, seeing as she hadn't ridden the Hogwarts Express. Her roommates were sleeping so she gingerly stepped out of bed. She didn't feel the need to put her uniform back on, even though she was wearing only her bra and panties. Instead, she threw her school robe around her like a bathrobe and tiptoed out the door and onto the landing.

The stone was cold against her feet but she knew she had to go slow, or risk waking up the entire house. It was painstaking work, going that slow down a cold staircase with no pants on. When it proved to be too much, she decided it was time to just do it. She sprinted down the staircase and jumped from the bottom step onto the nearest fur rug and sighed with content in the warmth of the common room. How lucky was she that the fire was kept going this late?

Wait…

Ella realized that the fire should _not_ be kept going this late. She pulled her robe tighter around herself and dreaded the moment when she had to turn around and face whoever it was that had been the stoker of the fire. After putting on an enthusiastic smile and fluffing her hair, she turned around.

Sitting around the fire was none other than her new friend Glenn, accompanied by a black boy with high cheekbones and two oafish looking boys with shaved heads. Leaning against the mantel was none other than Draco Malfoy.

Her faux smile fell from her face as she made eye contact with him for the first time since she had left Malfoy Manor over one year ago. He did not smile. His face did not betray any sign of emotion whatsoever. Instead, his steely gray eyes stared into her blue ones and she had to wrap her arms around herself to keep from shrinking under his gaze. She wasn't aware that four other pairs of eyes were eyeing where her bare legs were exposed, and the area above her breasts where the cloak was hanging loosely. Ella couldn't take it anymore and broke their stare for only a second. When she looked back he was already halfway to the staircase.

"Draco, wait!"

But it was too late. He had vanished and now she was left standing in the common room half-naked, and being ogled by grown wizards in the firelight. When she turned back to face them, she smiled again and let out an awkward sort of chuckle, making sure to wrap her robe tighter around herself this time.

"Uh, hi! I seemed to have, you know, misplaced my trunk. It's big, uh, leather? Any of you seen anything like that? Maybe in here, somewhere?" The boys shifted their gaze from the half-naked, rambling new girl to the trunk that was situated just to the left of the girl's staircase with a gold "EMS" etched into the purple leather. "Oh! Great! I'll be, um, going then. Enjoy your night!"

Ella began attempting to drag the heavy trunk up the staircase while holding her robe closed with one hand. She was failing miserably, and making a huge racket. She accidently let go of her robe as her trunk threatened to slide back down the stairs and flashed all the boys in the process.

"Hey, oh!"

"Bloody hell!"

"Shut up, alright? Are you guys wizards or mudbloods?"

It was Glenn. He had gotten up off the couch and was walking towards where she stood struggling on the stairs. He pulled out his wand, made the trunk levitate and pushed Ella gently up the stairs. Ella covered herself and felt instantly embarrassed. They reached the top landing and he dropped her trunk. She turned to face Glenn, who was staring at her with a tense jaw.

"Where the _bloody_ hell is your wand?" he bit out.

"I-I didn't think anyone would be down there! It's late! And we're not supposed to use our wands outside of class! And there's a curfew, you know!" Glenn rubbed his hands into his eyes and let out a heavy, disgruntled sigh. He put his hands on Ella's shoulders.

"Ella, you listen here and you listen good. This is Slytherin. Nobody here is going to look out for you. Nobody is going to hold you accountable for your actions. We have _no rules_. The sooner you learn that, the easier your life will be here. Always carry your wand, and always be on guard. Do you understand me?"

Ella just stared at him. He was overreacting to be sure, right? She just nodded.

"Alright. Go to bed, be up and ready at eight. Please, carry your wand and wear clothes in the common areas from now on?" When Ella nodded to show that she understood, Glenn ruffled his hair (which fell back into place). "Alright. Goodnight, Ella."

The door creaked when she opened it. Ella placed her trunk at the end of her bed and crawled back into its warmth, uncertain about what would come the next day when she would undoubtedly see Draco. Whether she would get him to speak with her would be another story entirely.

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_And so it begins! There is more to come, and I hope that you will follow my characters on this journey. Let me know what you think! Really, your reviews motivate me to keep writing because it lets me know that somebody out there cares that I update. Thanks for taking a peek and I hope you enjoy the reworked sequel.  
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_Emily S  
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	2. Chapter 2

_Hello, readers! I hope you enjoyed the first installment of this story. And I don't know if you did, really, because I'm not getting a lot of feedback. So let me know how I'm doing! This chapter is from Draco's perspective and I think you guys will like it. But let me know, ok? I don't like guessing games._

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Who does she think she is, anyway? Walking in here like she owns the place? A whole year with no letters, a summer with no visit, and then all of the sudden she just _shows up?_

Really, who does this bitch think she _is_?

Yeah, I got her letter, if you can even call it that. It was more of a sporadic scribble. All it said was _I'll be there, I need to know. _What in Merlin's name did she need to know? She had made her intentions clear by not responding to my letters. I wrote a lot, you know. For two months I wrote her letters. I responded to her pathetic scrawl that I got on the train. And I wrote more.

At first I tried to pass it off as her being preoccupied. It was her last year of school. She would be signing with a Quidditch team soon. Maybe she was just busy? I let it slide until Christmas. I even sent her something, too. I sent her a beautiful bracelet made of dragon-blown glass beads. I didn't get a letter; no present, not even a thank you. That was the last straw for me. It all clicked. I had to ask myself, since when does Draco Malfoy let a girl determine his happiness?

He doesn't.

Not now, not ever.

I got over her, too. I dated plenty of girls. I convinced myself that what we had was nothing. I was young, I'm still young, and I'm not looking to fall in love. I broke a lot of hearts but that's never changed. To be blatantly honest, what bloke looks at a woman and thinks "I like her for her mind?" No, they like her for the pair of tits that's sitting just south of her mind.

I'd had a few. With nice tits. Nicer than Ella's, that's for sure.

Well, bigger. Sometimes size matters.

Even if they look like a bludger in a tube sock when you get up under there.

Shit.

Ok, so she has nice tits. Big deal. The fact of the matter is I _waited. _I waited for her. I pined after her like a pathetic dog that's been kicked. I'm not proud of it, either. Do you know how many times during that first term I was offered pleasuring by females? And I denied it. Draco Malfoy denied female attention. And you know what? I deserved to have it after the shitty time I'd been having. I stayed in the Great Hall every morning waiting for a letter. Crabbe and Goyle are thicker than the snot in their noses and even they knew something was off. She ruined me.

So why did I feel my stomach drop when she walked into the Great Hall?

I hated myself for feeling that way. I was so angry and so conflicted that I couldn't even look at her. She was _here_. Why was she here? She obviously didn't love me. Was she trying to prove something to me? Had she come to rub something in my face? I expected it from her. As soon as that crackpot headmaster dismissed us I was out of there. I knew she'd be coming to find me and frankly, I didn't feel much like talking.

I was the first one back to the Common Room and I definitely wasn't going to stay there. I went straight up the staircase and into my dorm. It's not that I was scared of her, oh no; I was scared _for_ her. I was so angry that I would have done anything. In fact, I did do something.

I tore our room apart.

Curtains, bedding, trunks… everything.

As you can probably imagine, Blaise was furious when he came up to the dorms a couple hours later and found me reading my textbook in the remnants of my bed.

"What the double bloody _fuck_ did you do this for?"

Oh, Blaise, if you only knew. You would appreciate the story and this would all be a laugh. But you know what? I didn't feel like a laugh at this particular moment. Even though the last two hours had given me time to think about what I'd just done and I was in a state of lunacy. Mentally, anyway. I was still angry and Blaise was the first unsuspecting target that I had to let it all out on besides inanimate objects.

"You know what, piss off."

"Piss off? You're telling _me_ to piss off? You're the prat who tore our room apart for no bloody reason!"

There is a reason, Blaise. Merlin, can't a spoiled rich kid throw a temper tantrum?

"Don't call me a prat, Blaise, or I'll tell everyone I saw you snogging that mudblood from Ravenclaw last year."

His eyes narrowed and I could see his hand clench around his wand. But he knows better. I'm a much better duelist and there would be serious consequences for him if my father found out. Instead of cursing me, he waved his wand and put the room back together. After that, he turned and walked out. Nobody came up to bed after that. Well, one kid did. But he's the one we don't talk about.

He's a little strange. To be honest, I couldn't tell you his name.

Nobody likes to be alone with him and in my current mental state I wasn't about to risk killing him. Because, you know, it just seemed like the sort of thing that would have made my day a little brighter. That's how low I was right now. Rather than risk killing him or tear the room apart again, I went down to the common room. I had calmed down just enough to socialize with people without being a risk to public safety. It was mostly empty by the time I got there, but apparently word had travelled about my episode in the room. Crabbe, Goyle, and Blaise were sitting around the fireplace with Glenn, a sixth year. Glenn had become a part of our circle after he made the house team two years ago. He was one of the best Quidditch prospects I had. He wasn't a bad mate either, really.

When I made it to the fireplace, I collapsed in the arm chair that was available. Blaise was still glaring at me but I knew he would get over it eventually. Nothing was broken, so I didn't see what the problem was because he was a wizard. He could _fix _something if I broke it. Which I hadn't. So really, I didn't deserve his glares. Not that I cared. I had bigger problems to deal with. Nobody said anything for a long time. He must have told them what I'd done. Glenn spoke first after a long silence.

"So, the new girl. She's pretty fit. What do you think, Blaise?"

Blaise readjusted while he thought about his response. My ears had perked up when I heard him mention Ella. She was the last thing in the world I wanted to talk about at this particular moment but I shut up and listened. I wanted to hear what people knew, or thought they knew at least. Plus, I couldn't exactly let myself get worked up at the mere mention of her name. That would be a little obvious. So I clenched my teeth, white knuckled the chair, and sat back to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly.

"She's fit enough. She's not quite my type, you know?" Blaise finished his evaluation and Glenn seemed to be processing his response. I wasn't looking at him, but the silence that followed let me know that Glenn was thinking.

"Yeah, she's more Draco's type. Blonde, tits on a stick. Right, Malfoy?" I think I got whiplash from how fast I turned my head to glare at him. And you know what? I couldn't believe he was looking at me like that. I wanted to pull my wand out and wipe that smug look off his face. He knew something, the little prick. And he was messing with me. And you know what else? Draco Malfoy is not one to be messed with. But what could I do? If I reacted, I gave him the response he was looking for. And I didn't feel like being obvious. I'm cool. I'm collected. I'm _suave_.

"She looks like a slag."

Ok, so maybe I could have said it better. That was a little bitter, maybe even a little obvious. But don't worry, I'm still suave. Glenn laughed.

"But that's still your type, mate! She played Quidditch too, apparently. For _Durmstrang!_"

"Huh, is that so." See? Still suave.

It was quiet for a little while after that. Apparently I wasn't quite giving Glenn the reaction he was looking for, which satisfied me. Now he would have to either be a super prick by calling me out or…

"Come on, Malfoy, I know you know her."

He could use a term at wherever I learned to be fucking suave. I really wasn't expecting him to be _that_ obvious. I couldn't just deny it, even though I wanted to. Glenn had laid it all out on the table.

"Yeah, so what?"

I got up out of the armchair and walked over to the fireplace. I stood with my back to them because I knew that I was getting flustered and I didn't want to have to explain myself.

"She was asking about you, you know."

I turned around to look at him. What had Glenn been doing talking to Ella? Part of me wanted to know what she had said about me. It wasn't that I cared if she had said something meaningful about her feelings for me. No, I was worried about how detailed she had gotten about our relationship. It wasn't something that I wanted being circulated around Hogwarts. It wasn't my finest hour and my behavior the following months would now be accounted for. This could get out of hand. As I was about to respond to his remarks, somebody had clamored down the girl's staircase and intruded on our meeting. I was annoyed, but when I looked up I realized that the person who was now in my space was the last person I wanted to see.

Yeah, it was Ella.

I leaned against the mantelpiece for support and tried to look casual and uninterested. It was a second before she realized she was not alone and she turned on the spot towards our group. I had to ask myself what on earth she was wearing. Not a whole lot, that's for sure. It was amazing to watch as the moment of recognition happened. It played out across her face. She made eye contact with me and you know what? I didn't look away. She deserved to look in my eyes. It was obvious that there was fear in hers and that I was the reason it was there. But I didn't look away. I was enjoying her fear.

As I expected, she broke eye contact first. I wasn't going to stick around because I knew that in that split second she was gathering her thoughts. I started to leave before she could try and ambush me with her pathetic excuses in front of my friends. I wasn't ready to let my anger out towards her. I had to let her stew. Let her worry. I heard her call out my name. It was panicked. But I was already halfway up the stairs and I wasn't stopping and I definitely wasn't turning around. When I closed the door behind me, I leaned against it and breathed a sigh of, well, I don't know what. It wasn't relief. It wasn't pleasure. In fact, you know what it was?

Amusement.

I enjoyed what had just happened enormously. I enjoyed that I made her voice sound like that.


	3. Chapter 3

_Two chapters in one day? Write me up an award, this is perhaps a first for me. Things are about to get shaken up and this is JUST the beginning. You have no idea. Ha ha oh boy.._

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When Draco stumbled out of his dorm the next morning, he hadn't bothered to re-do his tie, his shirt was partially hanging out of his trousers, and his hair was a disheveled mess. He grabbed his school things and headed down to the Great Hall to get his schedule. The common room was mostly empty and the clock on the wall gave him the reason why. It was eight fifteen. Most of the students were already getting _their_ schedules.

The entrance hall was packed when he came out of the side corridor. Part of him wished he hadn't slept in late but a much larger part really couldn't care less. He elbowed and shoved his way through the crowd until he was in the Great Hall. Breakfast, he decided, would probably help the raging headache he was currently experiencing. But the moment he caught site of the Slytherin table, he wished he could turn and walk out without being obvious.

Ella was currently the object of every boy's attention at the Slytherin table, which was currently host to not only Slytherins, but a few Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs as well. Gryffindors knew better, apparently. They were all laughing at something _undoubtedly _witty and brilliant, but Draco didn't feel much like a laugh. There were some first years sitting at the very edge of the table, a spot most convenient when trying to avoid a group of laughing idiots. Draco hit one of them on the head with a copy of the _Prophet_ he'd confiscated off the table.

"You want to see Mum and Dad again? Then move," he growled. They all scattered immediately and Draco took their place, trying to look very interested in his biscuit and jam and an article about Goblin rights. He was aware that someone had just taken a seat next to him but didn't bother looking up.

"She is bloody _brilliant_!"

It was Glenn. Draco snarled and turned to face him. He rested his head on his hand and thought about cursing him, just for his own amusement. Glenn could be a real prat sometimes.

"Really? Truly? I'll bet she's faking it. Might even be faking those tits, too," Draco said so sarcastically it made him proud of his own snarkiness.

"Mate, she can fake whatever the hell she wants if the stuff she says about Quidditch is true. Did you know she played with Krum? And that Bulgaria _and_ England _and _France all want her for a Chaser? Fucking _Bulgaria_! You've got to get her on the house team. At least get her to try out, I've got to see if this bird can fly like she claims. Shouldn't be too hard, seeing as you know her and all."

Glenn went to drink out of Draco's pumpkin juice. Draco smacked it out of his hand in mid air and made the contents spill all over the table and Glenn's lap. Before he could respond to Glenn's swearing rants, he had picked up his things and made his exit. Professor Snape was standing by the entrance with his schedule in hand and Draco grabbed it without a word to the Potions Master.

How could Glenn be that senseless? If he had the nerve to disrespect him again, he might just lose control. Because frankly, he didn't have the patience to deal with him today; he didn't last night, for that matter. Draco had walked almost to the other side of the corridor before he realized he didn't know where he was going. His schedule told him he had Defense first. This normally wouldn't have bothered him, except for the fact that it was with the Gryffindors. Draco was slightly uneasy, whether he wanted to admit it or not. Both Potter and Weasley would be there. While they were remarkably dim-witted, Draco couldn't help but wonder if they would remember encountering Ella the summer before last.

And the inconvenient fact that he had been with her.

It wasn't difficult to find the room. It hadn't moved in seven years. Draco walked through the door and plopped down in a seat at the back of the room and put his head face-down on the cool surface. He could hear people begin to trickle in and the conversation escalate to a dull roar. His head was throbbing again. Suddenly, he was aware of a presence in the seat next to him and he lifted his head only to verify that it was Blaise. Soon after this, the new teacher began to try and gain control of the room to no avail. The steady pounding in Draco's head made it difficult to understand what was going on. Then, somebody came in late.

"I'm so sorry, Professor! I got lost on the way here. I'm a new student and luckily I found a couple veterans to help me out."

Draco recognized the voice without looking up. From the shuffling of chairs he could tell that she had taken a seat at a desk to his right. He cursed under his breath and made the decision to not lift his head the rest of the day. This positioning was not to Draco's advantage, because he could now overhear the conversation Ella was having with her rescuers.

"Thank you so much, you guys. I don't know how I could have found it without you."

"No problem, Ella. Let us know if you need anything at all."

"Yeah, we're here for you. Because you know, we go here. Well I guess you go here, too, now..."

"I think she gets it, Ron."

Draco snapped his head up and couldn't believe his miserable luck. Ella had parked it next to Harry Potter, with Ron Weasley sitting just in front of her next to the mudblood wonder, Hermione Granger. Draco sat up and leaned back in his chair. Blaise caught his eye and raised his eyebrows to imply that he was just as displeased with the situation as Draco was, although it was probably for different reasons. He set his jaw and stared straight ahead.

"Should we say something? She doesn't know," Blaise asked in a whisper.

"Fuck her."

The class went by without Draco hearing a word the teacher was saying. He would occasionally hear whispers from the tables to his right, but they were just muttered jumbles by the time they reached his ears. Class was almost out when a piece of parchment landed on his desk.

_Are you going to acknowledge that I'm here or not? –ES_

Draco considered writing back. Instead, he pulled out his wand and lit the parchment on fire. It burned quickly. When it had finished, he couldn't resist a glance at Ella. She was looking at him with an open mouth look of shock. For added effect, he waved. Something snapped in Ella when she made eye contact, and Draco could see it. Her mouth closed and her eyes narrowed. She turned away from him. Ella didn't look at Draco for the rest of the class.


	4. Chapter 4

_Hooray for chapter four! This is Glenn's perspective. I enjoy him as a character. I hope you guys will too, once you see inside his head. R&R, please! Things are about to get heated..._

_-Emily S  
_

_

* * *

_

I'm not going to lie, I noticed Ella. You know what I mean? I _noticed _her.

You can't blame me. I mean, she's _fit_. And when she mentioned she could play Quidditch, I was sold. I like blondes, probably more than Draco does. When she sat down across from me after the sorting, I had to think _yessss! _

Because that meant first dibs.

Her personality is alright, too. She seems a little dense in the common sense region but what bloke can complain about that? I was a little disappointed when she seemed so keen to find Draco, and even more disappointed when she was so ambiguous in her motives. But I'm not stupid so I knew something was up. Draco had obviously gotten himself into some trouble with this bird, let me tell you. Being the nice guy that I am I tried to help her as best I could. However, I am also a friend to Draco first and foremost so I couldn't just sell the man's soul to this woman. I did a little digging and she said she was from Durmstrang. I found this interesting to say the least. I have a cousin at Durmstrang.

Shit, I'm a pureblood.

We have cousins everywhere.

I'd tried interrogating Draco with little results. I was genuinely interested in getting a little something from Miss Stone. But if there were any claims or previous activity that belonged to Mister Malfoy, Mister Rutherford would have to get his permission. That's an unspoken law between mates. And based on Draco's reaction in the common room that first night, I knew there had to be _something _there. But Draco is a little _shit_. He wouldn't just tell me. So when Ella stumbled in during our intervention, I felt a little frustrated with both of them. I felt like I was close to getting some kind of information out of him when she inconveniently showed up. I couldn't get into Draco's dorm after that, either. Blaise said he'd sealed it up. Eventually he'd let them in but sworn he wouldn't talk to me.

The next morning, I felt refreshed and ready to tackle my problem from another angle. I got up earlier than most of my housemates to secure the chair with a prime view of the girl's staircase. I waited there for quite a while, but eventually Ella came down. As far as I could tell, she hadn't done anything different from the other girls with her uniform, but there was something _definitely_ different.

Her legs were a mile long or that skirt was hiked up to her girly bits.

And her oxford! I'd meant what I said to Draco about tits on a stick. I had to have this girl, I really did. I got up from my post and flagged her down.

"Ella!"

She'd smiled when she saw me and I could tell there was a little more brightness in her eyes. I have that way with women, you know?

"Hi Glenn!"

"You ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be."

I offered her my arm in a gentlemanly fashion. Well, not that it's because I was trying to be _fashionable; _I am a gentleman. She politely accepted it and we walked out of the crowded common room to whispers and glances, which I enjoyed tremendously. I knew I'd have to answer to Draco for this but I would definitely savor the moment. Draco always took away everyone else's fun and it was finally my turn to make _his_ life miserable. I noticed a group of my mates sitting at the Slytherin table when we made it to the Great Hall and decided to introduce Ella to a few more blokes who could ruin Draco's morning, including Blaise, Crabbe, and Goyle. I think they were still pretty cross with Malfoy.

Speaking of the little blonde devil, he wasn't currently present.

I dragged Ella over to the clump of teenage boys who were now officially accessories to my crime. Ella took a seat beside Blaise and I took her other side. Zabini looked at me with a look he often gives people who he thinks are mental but I just acted like I wasn't doing anything wrong. Which I wasn't, by the way. As far as I could tell, Malfoy had no interest in her.

"Boys, this is Ella. She's new."

Everyone in our group nodded and stared at her. Some said a muffled "hey" but most were just perplexed. Let me teach you a lesson about Slytherin men: we enjoy women, but we do not bring women around. Unless we are at a party or something of the sort, we don't just "hang out" with them. Because frankly, it's just easier that way. So when I brought Ella into our circle, I threw off the balance. And judging by the looks I was getting from people I better have a damn good reason for why I had committed such an atrocity.

We sat there in near silence for a while. Crabbe and Goyle didn't seem to notice the awkwardness, as usual, and continued stuffing their faces with sausages and waffles. This wasn't how I pictured my master plan going, so I had to speak up.

"I hear Draco's going to hold tryouts on Friday, first of the lot," I said as I filled my plate. "Who's going out?"

"Guess I better. With Nott gone, we need a few returning Chasers. It's easier to train one at a time," Blaise said. "Who do we have, though?"

Thank you, Blaise. I couldn't have planned this better.

"Well, Durmstrang, you played Chaser didn't you?"

Ella's head snapped up and she looked at me with a perplexed look. As a matter of fact, everyone around us had a perplexed look. Crabbe's head looked like it was going to explode from trying to comprehend that Ella had played Quidditch. I was sort of calling her out, and she would now have to be honest about her past, if it existed, with Quidditch. A passing group of Ravenclaws even stopped to listen. One of the Chasers on their team sat down in some spare seats around us and his friends followed suit.

"You play Chaser?" he asked. Ella was looking a little flustered and sort of pissed off. I didn't mind. It was funny to me, actually.

"Yes, I do," she finally answered.

"No way! Where at?"

"Durmstrang."

"No way! HEY JONNY! THIS BIRD PLAYED FOR DURMSTRANG!" the Ravenclaw was shouting at the Hufflepuff table. A sandy-haired boy got up and came over to our part of the table, followed by a few of his friends.

"You played for Durmstrang?" he asked Ella when he reached us.

"Yes."

"_She played Chaser!" _(Mr. Ravenclaw this time.)

"You played _Chaser?_"

"Yes, I _play_ Chaser."

Ella was getting red and she crossed her arms across her chest. A gesture, by the way, which pushed her rack up to prime viewing position. She was starting to get short with our new visitors, and I had to fight the urge not to laugh. It was all going so well!

"You still play Quidditch? Aren't you done with school?" I asked.

"Actually, I'm being recruited," she said in a cross, matter-of-fact sort of tone.

"No fucking way. By who?" Blaise asked, not believing her.

"Bulgaria. And France."

We all couldn't believe her. We just sort of stared and shook our heads. Ella seemed to have almost reached her boiling point because she looked at us all and said "How about you see me fucking _fly?_ I'll stick your fucking broomstick up your ass, you pompous—"

"Hey now, no need to get crazy! I don't want you calling Viktor Krum or anything." Mr. Ravenclaw and Mr. Hufflepuff couldn't believe their ears and bombarded Ella with a new batch of questions.

"Did you know Krum? You couldn't have known Krum."

"I bet she knew Krum."

"I do know Viktor, actually."

"Jonny, she called him Viktor! What's he like?"

"I saw him from a distance when he was here. He was big."

"Is he really that big?"

Ella was digging her nails into her scalp and rolling her eyes. We had her.

"Yeah, his _cock_ is proportional!" Ella spit out at them. Everybody exploded into laughs and began pounding the table with their fists. I was clapping my hands together and laughing along with them. Then, I noticed him. Oh, Draco, you are not so sneaky.

I saw him scare off a group of first years in a rather peeved fashion. I smiled to myself and caught Blaise's eye and winked. He looked at me over the top of Ella's head with the same "Are you _mental_?" look as I got up from the table to go have a chat with Mr. Malfoy. I put a smile on my face and nearly skipped to where he was sitting, buttering a biscuit and intently reading the _Prophet_. I plopped down in the seat next to him and I became instantly cheerful.

"She is bloody _brilliant_!"

The look on Draco's face was priceless. He had a nasty contortion of the mouth. I wanted to tell him that if he kept doing that, it would stick! My mum used to tell me that when I looked cross.

"Really? Truly? I'll bet she's faking it. Might even be faking those tits, too," Draco said as he attempted to hide behind his article and biscuit. But I wasn't having _any _of it.

"Mate, she can fake whatever the hell she wants if the stuff she says about Quidditch is true. Did you know she played with Krum? And that Bulgaria _and_ England _and _France all want her for a Chaser? Fucking _Bulgaria_!" Draco looked uncomfortable at this point. "You've got to get her on the house team. At least get her to try out, I've got to see if this bird can fly like she claims. Shouldn't be too hard, seeing as you know her and all."

I went to grab Draco's pumpkin juice, because I began to feel a bit parched.

Ok, and I knew it would piss him off.

And apparently it did.

As soon as the juice was so close I could taste it, I suddenly found myself covered in the sticky mess. The goblet had hit me in the chin and proceeded to scatter what _wasn't _in my lap all over the table and make a clattering noise that was so loud it silenced the chaotic mob in the hall. I stood up and turned so fast it made my head spin, but that little prick was already halfway to the exit, with Snape eyeing both him and me with that look he gets.

You know the one.

It's the one he has _all _the time.

I pulled out my wand and cleaned myself up and tried to look less than amused by his behavior. I went back to collect my school things from where I'd left Ella. She seemed to have settled in with the boys around her, so I didn't feel bad going to potions a few minutes early. Remember that cousin I said I had at Durmstrang? It was time I got in touch with him.

I had some questions about a few things.

* * *

I didn't hear back from Keegan for a few days. I got his letter during breakfast on Friday morning, and luckily I wasn't around Ella or Draco, because the envelope was stamped with the Durmstrang crest. I didn't even finish my sausages. Instead, I ran out into the entrance hall and ripped the letter open as fast as I could.

It was three pages long.

When I finished, I couldn't help but lean against the wall and smile.

It was better than I'd anticipated.

I'd be going to Quidditch tryouts with a spring in my step, that's for damn sure.


	5. Chapter 5

It had been a long week. Draco got out of bed Friday morning feeling like just throwing the Captain's badge at Blaise's bunk and never setting his ass on a broomstick ever again. Deciding that it would be a victory for Ella if he just gave up, he stood on his wobbly legs and began digging through his trunk for his pads.

There were whispers among the house that Ella would be going out for the team. Draco tried to hide his anxiety over this situation. The last thing he wanted was for Ella to be on his team. Could she even _be _on the team? He couldn't honestly remember the last time Slytherin had flown a female. He had scheduled tryouts to take place almost as soon as classes let out for the day. Whether this would be a mistake on his part, he didn't really know. The whole school would be down there. If they saw Ella fly, he couldn't just _not _put her on the team. He knew what she could do on a broomstick.

And soon, everyone else would know, too.

He had used his full privileges as Quidditch captain and excused himself from his lessons that day. It was only seven, and most of his housemates were still sleeping but Draco had a lot of work to do. He shouldered his broom, grabbed his clipboard and whistle, and slipped out of the room without waking any of his roommates.

The common room was empty, as he expected. So were most of the halls, save a few teachers. As Draco walked towards the grounds, he tried his hardest to convince himself that Ella _couldn't _try out. If she was signing, a team wouldn't want her playing with someone else.

Right?

The weather was fantastic. He noted the wind patterns. The ground was dewy, but firm. There was a mist that would burn off by the afternoon. Conditions were perfect. He mounted his broom and glided slowly towards the pitch, the tips of his boots barely dragging along the tops of the grass. It was refreshing to feel a breeze going through his hair, and he almost didn't notice who was standing just behind the broom shed.

Draco had touched down behind a tree, not wanting to be seen by Glenn and Ella. He was so far away that he was sure they hadn't seen him. Unfortunately, he was also so far away that he couldn't hear what they were saying to each other. Ella was leaning her back against the broom shed, wearing her hair in a high ponytail and what appeared to be her old Durmstrang Quidditch robes. Her foot was resting on a Quaffle. Glenn was standing in front of her, resting a hand against the shed and had his face remarkably close to hers. Draco could see a smile play at Ella's lips as Glenn held out his free hand to her. Ella shook it. Ella kicked the Quaffle into the air and snagged it with one hand and they set off towards the castle together.

Draco's eyes narrowed. Rutherford was up to something.


	6. Chapter 6

_Sorry for so long between updates, college really takes a lot out of you. Here's another change in POV, this time for Blaise. Let me know how it's going, maybe it will make me write faster next time!_

_Emily S.  
_

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I do _not_ envy Malfoy right now. I don't know what his history is with the Durmstrang Wonder, and to be honest, I don't really care. But if she goes out today, and she's as good as she claims he doesn't have a choice except to put her on the team. And I'm thinking of my team here. If they're always bickering like an old married couple, how are we supposed to win the house cup this year? Potter has Chasers, and he has plenty of prospects for subs. We don't. Other than me and Rutherford.

Great.

Malfoy was already out of bed by the time I got up. I didn't expect to see him in class today. He usually took important Quidditch days off. If I wanted to find him right now, all I had to do was go down to the pitch. But I figured he wanted some alone time. I'd see him soon enough, seeing as I had a free period at the end of the day. Instead, I packed up my things and felt the sausage and eggs calling my name.

The rest of the team was already eating. Crabbe and Goyle had annihilated most of the sausages, and Rutherford was talking to Durmstrang while Bletchley was eating a fat stack of pancakes. I took the open seat that was between Bletchley and Rutherford.

"Morning, Blaise!" Rutherford said as I started filling my plate.

"Shouldn't you be eating?" I noticed he wasn't even looking at the spread. I wanted him full and ready to go. Draco wasn't too happy with him and he'd be looking for any excuse not to have him back this year. To be honest, I was a bit peeved with him myself. What did he think he would accomplish by shoving Durmstrang in Malfoy's face?

"Already ate, my friend. Had an early morning flight. Getting ready to go, you know? Big day."

"Yeah, right."

I took what was left of the sausages and piled on the eggs. I avoided the toast. And the milk. Rutherford and Durmstrang weren't talking, but there was energy flowing between them. Suddenly, she stood up and grabbed her bag.

"See you lot later?" she said, addressing the Quidditch team. The rest of them gave her some sort of nod or acknowledgment. I kept my eyes fixed on my plate. I was loyal to my captain. Then, something happened.

I hadn't even taken my next bite before I heard the commotion. When I dropped my fork and looked up, I realized that Durmstrang was now flat on her ass at the end of the Slytherin table. I stood up on the spot to get a better look at what had caused her to be in this current position. And guess what? She'd run into Potter. Harry Potter. And he was helping her clean up her things.

"Merlin, Ella! I didn't even see you there!"

The atmosphere around the Slytherin table was tense during the time it took Potter and Durmstrang to clean up their mess. The girls were giving each other looks. The guys were half-sitting with their wands out. Nobody in the house trusted Potter. I guess it also had something to do with the fact that he was interacting with one of our "females". I looked over at Rutherford. He was standing with his arms crossed, except the look on his face is what did it to me. Every other male in our house was grimacing, glaring, and looking generally displeased. I don't consider myself an expert, but Rutherford looked almost like he was observing. I put my hand on his shoulder and shoved him back down into his seat.

Potter and Durmstrang finished cleaning up their mess and stood up from the floor. The rest of the Slytherins sat down, but I was a little more skeptical. I couldn't hear what was said between them after that. But then she did it. She put her hand on his shoulder, looked him in the eye, and kissed him on the cheek. We watched her leave the hall, skirt up to her ass, with a look of shock. I don't think Crabbe and Goyle knew how to handle this, because I saw Rutherford taking the wand from Crabbe's hand. Apparently, he was about to curse Potter. And I don't think I would have done anything about it, to be honest. We were all silent for several minutes. Except Rutherford, who was humming. Everyone was glaring at him in some way or another. He stretched, before gathering his things.

"Well, I'll be seeing you blokes on the pitch, yeah? Bring your game. And some snacks. I have a feeling this is going to be… quite the show?"

This was my last straw. He was definitely up to something. I shoved off the bench and grabbed his arm from behind just as we had cleared the Hall. I shoved him against the stone wall.

"What are you playing at, Glenn?"

"I can assure you, Blaise, that I am not playing at anything. Except Quidditch later. Shouldn't you be saving your energy for just that purpose?"

Rutherford shook off my grip and made his exit up the staircase. There was too much of a spring in his step and too much of a smile on his face. He was definitely up to something and it was not going to be good for Malfoy if he kept it up. I watched him go before heading back into the Great Hall to rejoin the Slytherin table. I made eye contact with Potter at the Gryffindor table and we shared a mutual glare.


End file.
